"End of the road”
This notification went out on 5/3/2021 via email. This is the original email the board sent. In the original Zoom meeting that followed they went over the points and ended with"This is the end of the road for mountain biking". I
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From: Seabury, Liz <lseabury@tamdistrict.org>
Sent: Monday, May 3, 2021 2:34 PM
To: Freeman, Dan
Cc: Elsen, Corbett <celsen@tamdistrict.org>
Subject: Re: Mt. Biking
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Dear Dan and Chris-
We are holding a district wide Mt. Bike meeting with our Assistant Supt of Finance, Corbet Elsen, We hope you both can make this meeting. Information regarding this meeting is below.
Thanks, both-
Liz
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 11th from 2:45-3:15pm
Zoom link: https://tamdistrict-org.zoom.us/j/99422079390
Meeting Agenda: (additional details further below to be reviewed during meeting)
1. Introductions
2. Context and Issue
3. Summary of Four Major Changes (from current practice)
4. Date of Implementation: July 1st, 2021
5. Next Steps & Questions
Context and Issue:
Our Tam District Mountain-biking clubs (and the Surfing and Sailing clubs as well) have not been operating in compliance under our District Board Policy (BP) as a student-initiated non-sponsored club, which results in significant District liability and other issues. To rectify, four major changes need to occur with all three of these clubs to be implemented by July 1st, 2021
Summary of 4 Major Changes from current practice:
1. No club finances run through our District
2. No fields trips or warranted absences
3. No staff advisors or any staff involvement
4. No usage of school or district names, logos, mascots or other related district property or identity (without prior written approval by authorized District representative)
When?: Changes are effective July 1st, 2021
Next steps:
· For sailing/surfing clubs (or any other similar club), each site admin informs them directly of these changes
· In Fall 2022 (and annually thereafter), any ‘Student-Initiated Non-Sponsored’ club student group will be provided a copy of the attached draft memo and waiver (referenced BP) tailored to each site.
· Any district owned property used by the club (i.e. Mountain-biking trailer, etc.) or funds held by (or owed to) the District will need to be resolved this Summer
o This will be resolved on a site-by-site basis
· Quick research shows that other CA district mountain-biking clubs operate as separate non-profit 501c3 entities unrelated to a school district.
Liz Seabury
Principal, H.S. 1327
Embracing change and inclusion- together.
This notification went out on 5/14/2021 and is directly from the board to anyone who sent an email to the board about this issue:
From: "Lundgren Harlander, Leslie" <lharlander@tamdistrict.org>
Date: May 14, 2021 at 3:52:05 PM PDT
To: "O'Leary, Mary" <moleary@tamdistrict.org>
Subject: RE: Save Marin HS MTB; A Student Athletes Perspective
Dear Person -
The Board of Trustees has taken no action to eliminate mountain biking at any of our District campuses. The District administration continues to explore options regarding the structure of these teams with respect to the fact that mountain biking is not a CIF sanctioned sport. It was never the intention of the District or Board to disband mountain biking.
I am sorry for the confusion and I am optimistic a workable solution can be found. The District recognizes the value and importance of student participation in sports, and I understand the District staff will be providing further information soon.
Respectfully,
Leslie Lundgren Harlander
Board President, Tamalpais Union High School District
This notification went out on 5/14/2021 as well via email to the coaches.
From: Seabury, Liz <lseabury@tamdistrict.org>
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2021 3:54 PM
To: Freeman, Dan <DFreeman@tamdistrict.org>
Cc: Elsen, Corbett <celsen@tamdistrict.org>; Severin, Nate <nseverin@tamdistrict.org>; Jacobs, Jolie
Subject: FW: Follow-up Mtn-biking meeting - Monday at 11:30am
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Dear Mountain-Biking Coaches and Advisors,
Obviously, there has been a lot of discussion in the community about the planned changes we discussed last Thursday pertaining to our mountain-biking clubs. We need another meeting together to review 1) what has been proposed, 2) clarify some misinformation circling the community and 3) discuss a potential alternative approach.
During the meeting last week, the District heard some of your feedback and continued to explore ways to offer this valuable experience to our students while also meeting the District’s stated need to reduce our exposure and liability given our current practices.
To those ends, I would like to schedule a Zoom meeting this Monday from 11:30-12pm with only the same group in attendance (only one coach & advisor per team) last Thursday, so I have limited the Zoom link to those individuals.
Lastly and in the interim, I would like to ask you to do what you can to ask your community to communicate civilly and with respect on this topic.
We are optimistic we have an alternative that meets our shared goal of continuing mountain-biking for our students.
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Take care,
Corbett Elsen
Chief Financial Officer
This notification went out on 5/15/2021 Via Parent Square in an attempt to sway public opinion.
Tam District Update About Mountain Biking May 15, 2021, 1:25 PM
Dear Tam District Families,
It has become clear that there has been a lot of discussion in the community about our mountain biking teams. One week ago, District administration held a meeting with site administration, mountain biking team lead coaches and advisors to discuss the operation of the three teams and how to bring them in line with our current board policy and administrative regulation. The need for the discussion is that mountain biking is not a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)-sanctioned sport and, historically, the District’s practice has been to sponsor only CIF sanctioned sports
During the meeting last week, the District heard feedback and continued to explore options regarding the operations of these teams. It was never the intention of the District or Board to disband mountain biking, however, it appears that not all present for the meeting left the table with the same understanding and some misinformation has gone out to the community.
The district is meeting again with those same administrators, coaches, and advisors in the coming week to further discuss ways to meet the shared goal of continuing to offer this valuable experience to our students and to structure the teams consistent with District policy, regulation, and values. We are optimistic we have a plan that will serve everyone’s needs.
The District will provide an update after the meeting mentioned above.
Respectfully,
Tam District Administration